The University plans to save more than $6 million a
year by generating its own electricity and much of
the heating and cooling and electricity for the
Storrs campus.

The project will require construction of a $75
million plant adjacent to the heating plant on
Glenbrook Road. The plant, which was approved by the
Board of Trustees in May, is expected to generate
more than 90 percent of the campus's peak electricity
demands when it is completed in two years. The excess
heat created in that process will be used to heat
most of the buildings and provide about 50 percent of
the cooling demands on the Storrs campus.

The cost of the plant, which will be financed using a
lease-purchase agreement, will be funded through
savings in the annual energy budget.

"This plant will provide the University with an
efficient means of meeting the energy demands we have
now and those we anticipate having during the next 30
years," said Dale Dreyfuss, vice chancellor for
business and administration.

The plant will be built and designed by a team headed
by Select Energy, a subsidiary of Northeast
Utilities. The firm, chosen through competitive bids,
is building a similar plant at Bradley Airport.
UConn's project will be financed through the
Tennessee-based Caterpillar Financial. After the
lease is paid off in 30 years, the plant will belong
to the University.